Researching the Topic
by EnigmaDesdemona7
Summary: Draco goes to the office of Remus Lupin to ask him questions that don't quite have to do with homework. Slash.


Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Remus Lupin  
Rating: PG-13  
Notes: Just a one-shot – there will be no continuation.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters in it. I am simply taking the characters from Harry Potter to provide entertainment for my friends and I – no profit is being made from this piece.

**Researching the Topic**

Professor Remus J. Lupin sighed and looked up as he heard a knock on his office door.  "It's unlocked," he called, going back to grading a tall stack of essays and assignments resting in several neat piles in front of him.

The old doorknob creaked as the person who had knocked on the other side slowly turned it, creating an eerie sort of noise that only a used antique could produce.  "Professor?" the person asked.  Lupin looked up; he'd expected it to be Severus or Minerva.

"Draco," he acknowledged with a curt nod, setting his quill softly on the oak desk.

Without being invited, Draco sat himself down in a chair facing Lupin's desk.

"I was just wondering…" He paused.  His face contorted as he attempted to put what he wanted to ask in words…  Remus inwardly chuckled; he had to admit, Draco did look rather cute when he was thinking…. in a child-like sort of way, of course.

"Could you help me with my homework?" Draco decided on.

"Certainly," Lupin said without any hesitation whatsoever, a friendly smile playing on his lips.  "What do you need help with?"

Draco's left eye gave a small twitch as he tried to figure out what to say.  "Well… it's not so much, 'help me with my homework,' as it is 'let me ask a few slightly off-topic questions'."  

Remus remained smiling.  "I try to never deny a student of knowledge if and when he or she asks," he said with a kind smirk.

"Right," Draco drawled, raising an eyebrow.  "Anyway, I noticed that with some Dark creatures that keep a human form, or a slight variant thereof," he started, "the laws are either much more strict, or extremely lenient…" He looked up at Lupin to make sure he was following his train of though.  He was.

"Go on," he insisted, pleased with the fact that a student took time out of his own personal life to find out extra information about what he was being taught.

"Well, the merepeople are always being granted privileges," he began again, "so I was wondering…" _How to word this correctly?_  "What are the laws for a person with lycanthropy?"  If Draco felt slightly nervous right now, it was nothing compared to what went through Lupin's body as soon as that last word came out of the young Malfoy's mouth.  His face faulted, but he never threw away his smile.  His friendly smile, however, transformed into an obviously fake and uncomfortable one, held by someone who was quite apparently not happy with his current situation. 

"Is there any particular reason that you're asking me this, Draco?" he asked.

"Er…well… Yes, actually," Draco managed to spit out.  "You see," he began rubbing the back of his neck, "I know this lycan, and, well, you see…. I like this person a lot.  But, you see, for this person and I to be together, you know, in that way… it would be sort of illegal."

Lupin remained watching Draco carefully, his body remaining stiff, hoping Draco didn't mean anything close to what Lupin thought he meant.

"Mister Malfoy," he intercepted before the boy made a fool of himself, "I would rather not hear about your illegal endeavors, as I would prefer not to be the one to report you to the Headmaster."

Draco immediately shook his head.  "You're not understanding, Lupin-"

"Professor," Lupin corrected.

Draco nodded.  "You're not understanding, _Professor _Lupin.  He and I aren't anything as of yet."

Lupin raised and eyebrow.  "He?" he asked, knowing for certain that his theories were correct.

Draco took in a sharp breath, stiffening his body before it fell into his seat in resignation.  He placed his elbow on the arm of the chair and rubbed his forehead with his fingers.  "Would the law be lenient or strict on a lycan?"

Remus didn't answer the question.  Rather, he responded with, "I am concerned, Mr. Malfoy, about the company you may be dealing with, if you are concerning yourself with an illegal relationship with a werewolf.  Might I ask if I know this person?  And furthermore, why don't you ask your own father such a question?  Being a man of the Ministry, I'm sure he would know the answer."

Draco sighed.  "This isn't going at all as I had planned," he muttered.  Now sitting up tall, Draco recited mechanically, "Professor Remus J. Lupin…" He paused.  "Werewolf."

Closing his eyes pensively, Lupin did not know what to say in response.  "Did your father tell you that?" he asked slowly, opening his eyes to look into Draco's.

As Draco nodded, Remus, not for the first time, thought of Lucius, and how very similar Draco was to him.  The hair, trademark silvery blond Malfoy locks, the eyes, steely grey, almost ice-like, the pointed nose, and the lips… Full and red.  Ready to kiss, forever and always.  Oh, to touch the lips of a Malfoy once more…

Lupin shook his head, bringing his thoughts back to the present.  "Well, Mister Malfoy," he said, "I am not quite sure what I should say to you."

Draco stared into Lupin's eyes, presumably expecting to get exactly what it was he wanted from him.

"You really are just like your father," he mused.  Draco listened.  "Look like him, act like him..."  He shook his head and looked down at his hands.  "But you aren't him."

Lupin lifted his head slightly, looking into Draco's eyes.  "Well, Mister Malfoy, my suggestion is that you not bother figuring out the laws for the lycanthropes.  Chances are that, though the law may oversee some things, which I can assure you the Ministry would interfere with this one, the werewolf you're interested in is more than likely not interested in you." 

There was a glint of something in Draco's eyes – hurt, was it?  Or maybe annoyance?  Anger?  He bit the corner of his lip and looked to the floor.

"Now, go on.  Get back to your common room.  It's getting late, and I wouldn't want to be the reason for you being out when you're not supposed to be."  Draco nodded and lifted himself out of the chair.  Sauntering to the door, he opened it and stepped out.

"I'll see you in class tomorrow, Mister Malfoy.  Please be sure to have your work done this time."

Lupin watched sadly as Draco shut the door, remembering at the moment the last time he had seen alone.

_They're so much alike, _he noted, _both with the same arrogance… and both just as tragic.  _He sighed pensively, lifting his quill again to grade more papers.  _Too bad he's so young, _he added mentally, smiling slyly to himself.


End file.
